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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. board — a committee
  3. scale — size or range
  4. current — electric
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to point toward
  9. current — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. current — happening now
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. scale — in music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. rest — a break
  19. cold — an illness
  20. board — to get on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com